The Tale of Toph Bei Fong
by Uncle Ruckes
Summary: This is the story of what happens to Toph after the ending of ATLA and it goes all the way to Avatar: The Legend of Korra. That is a 70 year gap for you those who did not know. Contains TophxSokka Tokka  and SukixSokka Sukka
1. Chapter 1

This is a fictional _**theory**_ story of what happens between the events of ATLA and The Legend Of Korra. Mostly what happens to Toph and Sokka.

(Of course its not going to be the same as the real story, but it gives you insight on how Toph feels for Sokka, and how **in the creators eyes**, its not ment to be.)

I feel like the Creaters Mike and Bryan didnt like Toph as much as the other members of the group. They left her alone in the end of the series, with no one but friends. Not to mention all the unanswered questions they left with her. So I figure when they make Korra, if shes even in it, they will still have the same feelings for her. In one of the interviews with Mike and Bryan, they killed the Zutara ship. Normally I would be happy about this revelation, but it only made me fear for Tokka. I personally love this ship and can only wish it were true, but with recent events I have only thought of what Toph would do in the 70 years between ATLA and Korra.

_**The way I wrote this story is unlike many others. If you going to read it, I suggest you **_**FINISH IT**_**. If you dont, you wont be satisfied.**_

**Attention!** _**this is not a happy ending story! I personally hate reading long stories only to be disappointed by the endings, so im giving you fair warning**_**. **

Here is that story: Directly After ATLA

"Oh, you think you can do a better job Momo?" Sokka questioned the Lemur on the table next to him. "Hey my belly is not that big anymore I've really trimmed down." Iroh stated, interupting the intense staring contest between Momo and the warrior. "Well I think you all look perfect." Toph exclaimed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Everyone in the room laughed at this, exept the irate water tribesman. "I think its the thought that counts, right?" Suki asked finally breaking through the laughter. "You would say something like that wouldnt you?" replied Toph, with a hint of anger in her voice. "Well of course." Suki continued "After all he is my boyfriend." Toph simply rolled her useless eyes in her direction, turned, and walked out of the room.

"What was that all about?" asked Sokka. "Im not sure but I have a feeling I made Toph angry." "Well thats not a big suprise, everything I do makes her angry." Sokka said as he returned to his work on the group painting.

Toph was making her way through the Jasmine Dragon, she was heading for the back exit. _Spirits everytime I get a good joke in, Suki messes it up. She's nice and all but seriously cant she just shut up for a minute and let me have a victory? _Toph thought to herself as she opened the back door to the tea shop and stepped into the busy streets of Ba Sing Se.

_Its not like I ever make fun of her, is she just trying to piss me off? What did I ever do to her? Oh yeah, I kissed her at the Serpents Pass, but that was clearly an accident. It was ment for Sokka._ Toph stopped dead in her tracks at this new revelation._ Could she be angry at me for wanting to kiss Sokka? It's not like Im trying to steal him from her. All I do now is make fun of him every chance I get. He dosent mind so why should she? After all me and Sokka are best friends._

Then Toph felt a very familiar set of steps walking torwards her and it snapped her out of her thoughts. "Hey Iroh." She called not turning around. She always liked people to know how special she was, not to mention it freaked people out. Iroh on the other hand wasnt suprised. He knew of Toph's special abilites, and knew how proud of them she was.

"Hello Toph, may I walk with you?" Asked the wise old man. "Sure im glad someone would want to walk with me." Toph tried to hide the hint of sadness with sarcasm but as it escaped her lips she could tell she did a poor job. "Anyone would want to walk with a pretty young lady like yourself." Toph snorted "Good one Iroh, sometimes I think you should be the sarcastic one." Iroh face fell as he let out a long sigh. "Toph we've been over this." "I know we have Iroh, and I said that when I find a guy who is interested in me for me, and not the rich war hero, I'd believe you."

"Toph you cant keep beating yourself up like this." the old man replied with odd firmness. This angered Toph and her voice raised significantly "Why the hell not Iroh, everyone else has someone they love. Not me im just the tough loner in the group. No one knows how I feel on the inside, and spirits know i'd never tell them." "Toph if you dont tell _**him**_," emphasizing the him "_**he**_ will never know." "Who do you think I am Iroh, some kind of homewreaker, im not going to try to steal him from Suki."

"I never said anything about stealing him, Im saying the Toph Bei Fong I know wouldnt let this get to her. She is to strong willed and straight forward to let someone she loves slip through her fingers." An odd silence surrounded the two of them like a black haze that you couldnt see through, creating walls around them like nobody else was around. Her voice, like a knife, that was now pouring with sadness, cut through the fog. "I guess you dont know the real me." The sounds eminating from her stabbed through Iroh to the core. He couldnt think of anything to say he was to hurt and the wound to deep for him to handle.

He stood there wide eyed, mouth agape, as Toph turned on her heals and was swallowed into the crowed of Ba Sing Se. He looked down at the ground where the young earthbender had been standing and saw a drop of liquid. It was a single tear and he watched it be sucked into the earth, like it had never happend.

"Suki you know that I love you right." said the young man "Yes Sokka you only told me fifty times today." she replied. "Ok, I just wanted to make sure you knew.

Sokka leaned in for a kiss and just before their lips touched _**BAM!**_ and the warrior jumped into the air "What in the name of Agni was that!"

What they saw almost scared them to death. Iroh, or what seemed to be Iroh, was surrounded in flames and they could just make out his face in the flames. He was glaring daggers at the two of them. Sokka finally mustered up the courage to speak although it was a little squeaky. "Iroh, are you ok?" "Am I ok, am I ok. How in the name of Tui and La could I be ok. How could you do that to her? She hates herself because of you." Iroh was yelling at the top of his lungs.

Sokka struggled to remain in contol of his instinct to run like a little girl, and his natural curiosity got the best of him. "Who are you talking about, I didnt do anything." This seemed to anger Iroh even more, and his flames grew hotter turning from orange, to blue, and finally to a white brilliance. Sokka hid behind Suki denying his urge to seem manly in front of her. Iroh took a deep breath and as soon as it had come, his anger seemed to disappear, or at least the searing hot fire that had been there was gone.

He stood in the back of the room, face pointed at the floor. His breathing was deep and slow. "Sokka, I want you and Suki out of my tea shop now, and I dont want you to come back until you help her out of this self imposed pain your causing." "Who, who am I supposed to help?" Sokka asked. "That is for you to find out on your own, get out."

Sokka grabbed Suki's hand and turned to go. "And dont forget to take your horrid painting." The warrior turned, scowled at Iroh, grabbed the painting and stormed out of the tea shop.

Aang and Katara hearing all of the commotion stopped their makeout session in front of the shop, and turned to see what was wrong. All they saw was Sokka dragging Suki behind him out of the Jasmine Dragon mutturing curses that would make a sailer cringe. They watched them walk down the street and turn a corner. "What do you think that was about?" Aang just shrugged.

Toph had returned to their home in Ba Sing Se, walked into her room and slammed the door behind her. Toph's room wasnt much to look at. It was mostly plain white walls, a bed made for two, a night stand and a couch against the far wall. The metalbender collapsed onto the bed, she was tired. But not tired from no sleep, which she seemed to be getting very little of lately, she was tired of everything. All Toph wanted to do was fall asleep and never wake up. Why was her life so unfair. Her parents hated her from running away and never coming back, she didnt have anyone who loved her like all the others. And worst of all was the simple fact of life that she would never see all of the wonderful things that people told her about. Toph would never see the blue of the sky, never experiance the sight of the one she loved, and never view the sunset that everyone told her about. Everytime the eathbending prodigy heard _wow look at that, _or_ Oh my god that is so beautiful! _She felt the emptyness in her grow like a black hole sucking the good parts of her life away from her to leave her with only sorrow and regret.

Two days later

Sokka was having trouble of his own, he couldnt for the life of him find out which girl he needed to talk to. He instantly ruled out Katara, because she wasnt mad at him, next came Toph which he knew could take care of herself. Although he hadnt seen her in a couple days. Who could Iroh be talking about?

Just then he caught a glimpse of green in the corner of his eye heading torwards him, it was Toph. Her hair was messy, clothes were dirty, and she looked very tired. The Warrior turned to face her "Hey Toph, where have you been?" "I dont believe that is any of your buisness Sokka." Toph replied groggily. Sokka could now tell she hadnt slept in a couple days. "Toph" He countered "where have you been?" this time there was consern in his voice. "Nevermind where ive been snoozles, im bored. What do you want to do."

"I cant really do anything right now Toph, apparently I hurt a girl and Iroh said I couldnt return to the Jasmine Dragon until I figured it out and fixed it." The Metalbender scowled at him, but he didnt seem to notice. "Nevermind that meathead. Im sure Iroh was over reacting, I'll go talk to him."

"You would? Thank you so much Toph!" He wrapped his arms around the petite girl in front of him, and gave her a powerful hug. "No problem, but if you dont let me go you'll have more problems than lack of tea." "Oops, sorry Toph." Sokka set her down and winced when her fist connected with his ever present bruise.

After Toph had another talk with Iroh he suddenly changed his mind to admit Sokka and Suki back into the Jasmine Dragon. Although he never seemed to get over his anger torwards Sokka.

Two years later:

The next two years went by smoothly for Toph, she realized now that her chance with Sokka had deminished to nothing but a grain of sand in a desert. She tried to get over it and for the most part she did, they were still best friends, pulled off the occasional prank, and enjoyed being in each others presence.

But recently Sokka seemed to be spending less time with her, like he was preoccupied with something. She would have to question him about it later, but right now she had to at least try to pay attention to the person in front of her.

Toph was on a date with a hyper guy named Riu. She didnt mind talking to him he was a nice enough guy, and from what Iroh tells her he is very handsome. This was their second date and Toph finally felt like she might have found a keeper. Not only was he interesting, but he was also an earthbender. Of course he didnt stand a chance against Toph, but him being able to relate made her feel a little better.

"Then just as he started to walk away I tripped him and he fell on a table covered with food. He got punch all over his white suit." They shared a laugh at the story Riu was retelling her.

Riu even had a sense of humor much like Toph's, and now that she thought about it Riu seemed alot like Sokka. Is that why she sort of liked him? Because he reminded her of Sokka. It almost hurt Toph to think like that, was she still in love with that idiot?

"Toph are you ok?" Riu asked with a concerned look on his face. "No, Im sorry Riu, im not ok." replied the metalbender "Whats wrong Toph." "Its not you Riu, your a nice, respectful, funny guy. Its me, im a stupid, blind girl who is to afraid to tell the one that she really loves how she feels. And im trying to cover it up by going out with others. Im so sorry I wasted your time Riu, but I have to go." Toph stood to leave and before she could turn Riu spoke "Don't worry Toph im not angry at you, and it most definatly wasnt a waste of my time. I figured there was someone else, but dont forget ill be here if you need me." Toph turned so he couldnt see her face "Thanks Riu, ill remember that."

Toph had made up her mind, she would tell Sokka how she felt no matter the outcome. No longer would she waste her life wondering what if. And if he said no she would finally be able to get over him and he would never see her again.

Sokka was sitting in front of his favorite place in Ba Sing Se, the Koi fish pond in his back yard. He was gently stroking the smooth round stone in his pocket. _Am I going to go through with this, how will I ask her? What will she say?_ Questions were assulting his mind like a cricket that wont shut up when your trying to fall asleep. "Yue, wish me luck." he whispered to the moon that was just starting to show itself on the horizon.

"What for?" came the familiar voice that could only be Toph. He quickly pulled his hand from his pocket and replied "Nothing!" in a squeaky voice that he only used when he was nervous.

"I can tell your lying." She replied in a sing-song voice. "Whatever." he growled.

"Whats that in your pocket Sokka it feels like a rock?" "Its nothing Toph, what do you want." Toph was taken aback from Sokka's hostility.

_maybe this isnt a good time to tell him._ she thought to herself._ To hell with it, im telling him and moving on with my life with or without him._

"Sokka im here to tell you something important." "What is so important that you have to come to my house in the night." his anger lowered but there still was a hint of it in his voice. Toph didnt like it one bit, she was about to tell him that she loved him, and he was acting like an ass. "Sokka, I have been hiding this from everyone for a long time and I figured that you should know before I..." She trailed off almost revealing that see was going to leave. "Before you..." he repeated. "Nevermind, what im trying to say is..." "Well?" he asked lamely. "If your going to act like that you can go screw yourself Sokka." Now it was his turn to act suprised. Toph was serious here and he was blowing it off like nothing. "Im sorry Toph I just have a lot on my mind right now. Please, tell me what you wanted to say."

"Sokka I know how stupid I am for telling you this now, and how stupid I was for not telling you a long time ago." "Toph your not stupid" "When you hear what I have to say Id like you say that again." "I promise Toph." "Ok... Sokka I. I.. love you and I've loved you since the day you saved my life on that fire nation airship."

Sokka the swordmaster, warrior, and stratigist, looked at the young women next to him. Yes he couldnt deny the fact that she had grown to be quite beautiful, and he loved her like a sister. But never in a million years had he thought that Toph had feelings like this for him. Sometimes he didnt even think she had feelings besides anger and rage.

His head was buzzing to find the solution to this problem sitting in front of him, and his almost instantanious reaction was to laugh, and laugh he did. First it was a chuckle, and it turned into a full out cacklefest.

Toph hearing this, knew what it ment, and Sokka's laughter was drowned out by the sound of her heart cracking to pieces. Finally Sokka regained control of his body and sat up to face his blind friend. "Wow Toph you had me goin there for a second." He was out of breath. She 'looked' over in his direction with tears filling her eyes. This was what she expected , why did it hurt so much? "Oh." responded Sokka lamely to the sight of tears streaming down her face. "Toph I had no idea..." he started but was cut off by Toph "Fuck you Sokka, I cant believe this shit. I pour my heart out and all you do is laugh at me." "Toph im sorry..." but again Toph cut him off "Don't be sorry Sokka" Toph started sobbing instead of her previous yelling "its my fault, it always has been, dont worry you'll never have to see me again."

"But Toph, I don't want you to leave. I might not have the same feelings for you, but your my best friend." Toph almost gave in, she almost said _ok Sokka im sorry about all of this._ But she willed herself to continue, no longer would she be dragged down deeper into this lonely pit he dug for her. "It's not that simple Sokka. I have to move on, thats the reason I told you this. I've been killing myself over you for almost three years now. And I cant take another day knowing that ill never truly be with you." Silence followed this extremely heartfelt confession which was the polar opposite of what Toph would usually say or do. Sokka finally spoke up "So your leaving, just like that?" "Yes Sokka, I cant live like this anymore. I will never forget you, I will always have a place for you in my heart." Sokka's eyes widend with horrer "Are you saying ill never see you again." Toph 'looked' at him their eyes locked "Its for the best Sokka, goodbye."

Toph turned and started to walk torwards the house. "Hey Toph, I still dont think your stupid." yelled Sokka. "Thank you." she whispered and continued to the house.

She had felt Suki at the window listening in on their conversation. "Oh hi Toph, hows it going?" Asked Suki. "You know damn well how its going, and If I ever hear that you did anything to hurt Sokka I will hunt you down personally."

"Dont worry Toph, I love him." "Good," Toph's voice lowered to a whisper " because you dont know how lucky you are."

Toph Bei Fong walked away from the window and slowly made her way out of Sokka's yard. She didnt dare spare him a second 'glace' for the fear of turning back. She reached the streets on Ba Sing Se, and headed torwards the Jasmine Dragon to say goodbye to another old friend.

Sokka still sat in front of the Koi pond in his backyard, thinking. It had all happend to fast for him to process, and it finally hit him like a bag of rocks. Suki approached him to make sure he was alright he hadnt moved in an hour. She sat down beside him "You ok?" "No Suki, Im not ok, she was the girl Iroh was talking about two years ago. I could of prevented this, I could of helped her through it. Then she wouldnt be gone forever."

"How, its not like she wanted help." replied Suki "I know but I was oblivious of her feelings." " Sokka, wasnt she the one who tricked you into thinking Iroh was over reacting." "That dosent change the fact that my best friend needed my help and I couldnt stop thinking about you to even notice her."

"If you love her, I will understand." Suki sounded defeated "But I dont love her like that, she's part of my family, like my little sister. I told you before that I loved you, and to prove it" Sokka pulled the green stone out of his pocket "will you marry me" it had the earth symbol and the water symbol side by side. It had taken him weeks to carve, and he was very proud of his work. Suki gasped "Of course ill marry you Sokka."

While Sokka was busy asking Suki the big question, Toph had ventured to the best tea shop in the city, told Iroh what she had done, and what she was going to do. Iroh, as expected, asked her to stay with him. He said "This is a very hard time in your life, and it is unwise to go through it alone." and Toph, like always, had the perfect comeback "I have always done things by myself, and it looks like im going to be by myself for a long time. So I might as well get used to it now. ill visit whenever im in the area Iroh." "Please Toph, dont call me Iroh, you can call me uncle. Your part of my family, and I wish you luck on your journy." Despite all the things Toph had been through, she couldnt help but smile "Thanks uncle, ill see you soon." Iroh sighed as she began her walk out of the tea shop. "If only that were true Toph, if only it were true."

Six months later

"Suki I need to go find her." explained Sokka "I understand, but you need to be back in a month at the most. Im not having my fiance miss our wedding." "Dont worry Suki ill be back on time, with Toph."

"You might want to go talk to Iroh before you go, he was the last person to see Toph before she disappeared." "Im not so sure about that, I think he's still blames me for her leaving." "Gee, I wonder why, maybe because it was you Sokka." replied the Kyoshi warrior.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know she loved me, all Toph ever did was hit me, call me names, and make fun of me." Sokka tried defending himself. "Thats how she expresses herself. On the outside she's a tough, strong willed girl, but on the inside Toph's lonely, and full of grief." "I know Suki, and we were all to blind to see it." Sokka realized the irony of his statement and started to chuckle. "Get going Sokka, I dont want you to waste another minute." "Ok ill be back as soon as I can."

The warrior took one last look at the beautiful woman that was going to marry him, and started torwards Iroh's apartment in the upper ring. He thought of what he would say when he found her, and where he would find her. _Man I wish Aang and Katara were here, then I could borrow Appa, but no Aang and her need to enforce world peace. This was way more important than world peace._

Toph, infact, returned to the city. She was giving Iroh her first visit since she had left, saying that she would visit him every six months. Iroh's Apartment wasnt the best in the upper ring, and if he wanted he could afford any house he wanted, but he was content with what he had.

"It has been so long Toph, how was your travels?" Iroh questioned "It was actually kind of fun uncle, I think that I found my calling in life." answered Toph "Really, what would that be?" "Fighting." The metal bender replied nonchalontly "I dont know If that is the best path for you, but if it helps you forget..." Iroh trailed off "Im fine Iroh, but are you sure no one will show up unannounced." "Im positive Toph, Sokka has never been to my apartment." But the universe wanted to make Iroh look bad, and as soon as he finished his explaination, there was a knock on the door.

The Dragon of the West stood, and walked to the window to see who it was. He gasped at who what saw, it was Sokka, and he was carrying travel gear on his back.

"Toph you need to hide now!" Explained Iroh "Who is it uncle?" "Its him, now hide." Toph's eyes widened in horrer, and she froze into a block of ice on the couch. Iroh walked over grabbed her hand and guided her to the nearest closet, stuffed her in and shut the door, made sure to leave a crack, so Toph could hear what Sokka had to say.

Iroh made his way back to the front door, and opened it. "Hello Sokka, what brings you to my home?" "I need to talk to you about Toph." "Well by all means come in, would you like some tea." "No thanks." replied the watertribe native, as Iroh guided him to the couch Toph was sitting in moments before. The Firebender sat down beside Sokka and looked at him expectantly. Sokka, taking the hint, spoke. "I need to know where Toph is, or at least where she was last. Anything you can tell me will help." "Why would I tell you where she went Sokka? If I remember correctly your the reason she's gone." "I know Iroh, but this is important." defended Sokka "What could be so important?" "Im getting married to Suki, and I want Toph to be there."

Toph being able to hear this confession, almost screamed. But, thankfully, it came out as a quite gasp. So many emotions were going through her at one it made her head hurt. She had finally been able to move on with her life, and get over the emptyness Sokka gave her. Now it came rushing back with avengence. Anger came first, then came sadness, and last was depression. This cycle repeated itself as she sat in the dark closet of Iroh's apartment.

Iroh on the other hand kept his composure "Why in the name of Oma and Shu do you think she would go to your wedding? It would only bring back the pain she had before she left." "I know Iroh but I wanted to talk to her about things. Maybe I can help her." "I suggest you leave Sokka, I see Toph as a daughter, and im going to protect her from anymore pain." Sokka sat there for a minute processing what Iroh had said "You might see her as a daughter Iroh, but I see her as a sister and I need to talk to her. If I have to find her on my own I will."

Toph could no longer hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. They started to fall, and she quietly sobbed to herself. Unfortuanetly for her Sokka and Iroh heard it. "What was that?" I have no idea." lied the old man "Is she in the closet? She was here and you wouldnt let me see her?" "Of course I didnt let you see her! I was hoping you never saw her again!" yelled the Dragon of the West.

Toph, hearing Iroh's yelling, knew she was no longer hidden. The metelbender stood and opened the closet door. "Toph Im so happy I found you, we need to talk." while Sokka began to talk he couldnt help but notice that Toph had gotten even more beautiful since the last time he had seen her. _Will her growing beauty ever stop?_ he thought to himself. "I dont want to hear it Sokka." "Toph you have to." the metalbender began to lose her temper "I don't **have** to do anything Sokka, who do you think I am your pet?" "No Toph, but your part of my family now, and I want you to be by my side at the wedding." Toph could feel her body vibrate as spasms of anger and hatred exploded within her "Fuck the wedding, Fuck being by your side, and Fuck you Sokka. You and I made our choices a long time ago. Im not part of your family, and as far as im concerned I never was."

This hit Sokka hard, he felt like part of him had been ripped away with the onslaught of insults Toph was spewwing out of her mouth like a gyser. "Toph please, how could you say these things?" cried Sokka "How could I say these things" Toph chuckled "because all I have ever felt was pain and loneliness. How couldnt I?" "Toph I can help you through this, please." replied the warrior. "No Sokka, no one can help me." she paused and looked torwards the floor that was now soaked with her tears. "Maybe If I leave this world I can find peace in the next?" Sokka stiffened at the words Toph had just spoken. "No, Toph thats not how you deal with this issue. I wont let you."

"Im sorry Sokka." She turned to the door "Goodbye." and the earthbending master dashed for the door of the apartment, Sokka right behind her. She flung the door open and made her way to the stairs. It just so happened that Iroh's apartment was built on the side of the great inner wall, and Toph knew what she had to do. She ascended flight after flight of stairs, Sokka still calling her name. "Toph you cant do this, you cant leave us. You cant leave me." But she continued to climb, running past the guards like they were nothing. Unfortunatly for Sokka the guards took notice of him chasing a beautiful young girl, and also gave chase.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity she made it to the top of the wall. Sokka still chasing her, and him still being chased by the soldiers. She came to a stop and 'gazed' over the edge of the wall. _This is it, this is my escape out of this hell. _"Toph please, please dont do this. I love you." She turned to face him, there was no longer any emotion on her face, like she was wearing a plain white mask. "You dont love me the way I love you." replied Toph "Maybe not, but your my family Toph, if you do this ill never find peace." she turned back torwards the wall "Yes you will Sokka, this isnt your fault." She Stepped onto the railing, balanced on the rock guarding, turned to face him, and smiled. "Sokka, your about to make me happy, im about to have my freedom." Toph leaned back and let gravity take over. Air was rushing past her and she was truly blind. Toph didnt get to far though, Sokka being the strong, fast, warrior he was reacted with lightning fast reflexes. He reached out and caught one of the girls legs and held her life in his hands. "I wont let you do it Toph, im not going to let it happen."

Toph tilted her head up to point torwards Sokka's, the smile no longer on her face, It was replaced by a look of indifference. The two friends eyes locked once again "Its for the best Sokka, goodbye." Toph pulled back her free foot and kicked forward with all the force she had. It connected with Sokka's nose and he reflexivly threw his head back. Which, in turn, made him loose his grip on Toph. The blind bandit again started to make her long plummet torwards the ground. Sokka, realizing what had just happend, ran back to the edge of the wall. "**TOPH!"** he screamed. Just as he was about to jump after her, the guards that had been watching the two argue grabbed him to make sure he didnt follow the blind girls lead. "**Let me go, I need to save her**!" cried the swordmaster. They didnt release him and just before he saw his best friend finally leave the world of the living they pulled him away from the ledge.** WHAM! **"**TOPH NOOOOO!" **the warrior was struggling to get free form the guards grasp. He knew it was to late to save her, but it was just to painful for him to give in.

Finally he stopped his fighting, and curled into a ball on the floor and cried for his lost friend. She was gone and there was nothing he could do to bring her back. He had failed again to save someone he loved.

- End Part 1

Is Toph really gone? What will Sokka do? How will he react?

Find out next time.

**By the way I could really use a Beta**. My grammer skills leave much to desire, if your interested email me: t_


	2. Chapter 2

Here is part 2 of The Tale of Toph Bei fong

_Please leave comments_, I really need to know what im doing wrong and what im doing right.

-The Next Morning

The sun rose over the horizon and rays of sunlight met Sokka's red, puffy eyes. He rolled onto his back and sighed. "Thank god it was all just a dream." After a few minutes the young warrior opened his eyes, what he saw suprised him to say the least. He was looking up at a pinkish, blue sky. _Did I fall asleep outside?_ Then he felt wetness all around him, he sat up and turned to look at the ground, he had fallen asleep in a puddle. Then it hit him, his eyes, no longer heavy, shot open. Slowly he turned to look at the guard railing of the wall before him.

Sokka had wept on the inner wall for hours, and had fallen asleep in a pool of his own tears. The guards were long gone, deciding it was better that they leave him to grieve. They didnt have the heart to make him move. "It wasnt a dream?" whispered the warrior.

Slowly he stood, facing the edge of the wall, where his best friend had been standing hours before. _"Sokka, your about to make me happy, im about to have my freedom." _thats what she had told him.

"Good your finally up." Sokka turned to face the source of this new voice. It was an elderly looking guard, most likely in his early fifties. Then he spoke again "Im very sorry for you loss son. I can take you to her grave if you would like." his voice was low, but reassuring. "She was already buried?" he questioned "Yes, im very sorry, but there would of been no possible way to move the body. I thought it was better to bury her there." Sokka could tell that the man was truly sad about what he had to do. Most likely because the blind girls friends, and family could no longer provide a proper burial. "Its alright sir, thats what Toph would of wanted." Sokka felt a stab of sadness hit him as he spoke her name. "And if you would, please take me to her grave." "Of course son." replied the guard.

The soldier guided Sokka down the thousands of steps that scaled the inner wall. Finally they made in to the bottom, on the opposite side of the city. Sokka stared at the rising sun as he made his way out of the hidden doorway. Sokka thought to himself. _Sunrises represent new begginings, not endings. _

The guard stopped and pointed to a recently disturbed patch of earth. It was perpendicular to the inner wall of Ba Sing Se and the head of the grave was only a few feet away from it. _If Toph ever had gotten to chose her own grave. I bet this is where she would of liked to be put to rest. _Sokka's eyes, again, began to water. The guard took notice of it, and look at the ground. "We found something lying next to her body, I think its made of some kind of stone, or maybe metal." the older man took a black, ringed shape object out of his pocket and handed it to the young man. Sokka examined the artifact like it was the most important thing in the world. It was the space bracelet he had given her during the war. On it he noticed something that was never there before, it had been ingraved. It read _"Please forgive me."_ He stood that way for several minutes before he regained his composure. The guard was very curtious and gave him the time he needed. "Could you take me back to the other side of the wall? I need to let everyone know what has happenend. "Of course follow me." replied the soldier.

-One Month Later: Two days before Sokka, and Suki's wedding

Toph's funeral was being held, and a raised stand with a podium on top sat five feet to the left of the grave. People had flocked from all around the world to attend, It seemed like all of Ba Sing Se was here to pay there last respects. There where a couple reasons that the funeral had taken so long to get prepared.

First of all was the fact that it took time for people to travel to Ba Sing Se. Even a few water tribe members were there to say goodbye to the greatest earthbender to ever exist. She was the only one powerful enough to bend metal, and that secret art died with her.

Secondly, Sokka wanted to make sure everything was perfect. He had spent hours upon hours preparing everything, And the thing that he was most proud of was her tomb stone. It was not just a tomb stone though, It was also the great wall. The entire inner wall of Ba Sing Se was Toph's. Every time someone arrived he heard them gasp at the magnificence of it. Sokka had worked with a group of some of the most skilled earthbending artist that the city had to offer. It had taken three weeks to complete, but it was all worth it.

On the wall was a picture, it was of a beautiful young girl in an unusual earthbending stance. At least it was unusual to a regular earthbender, but it was Toph's signiture style. The picture almost took up the entire wall, and Sokka made sure that the funeral was held at sunrise to make sure everyone got the best look possible. The image stopped about ten feet from the ground and carved into the wall were large engraced words.

Written:

_"Toph Bei Fong"_

_A War Hero, An Avatar's Teacher_

_And the greatest friend anyone could ask for_

However, these were not the only words written on the wall. If someone was looking for it, they would have seen a small, poorly engraved sentence below the others.

_We will never forget_

Sokka had insisted that he carve these words himself, he didnt care how bad it looked. It was more from him than anyone else, he had even contenplated writing _I _Instead of _We._

He sat among all the other speakers, they included, Aang, Katara, Iroh and himself. These were the people who were closest to Toph. The ones who understood her the best. Our at least Sokka thought he understood her, but that was before what had happened, did he really ever understand her?

Katara was the first to step up to the podium. Her speech was very short and sweet. It summed up there relationship and how unexpected and sudden her death was.

No one but Sokka, Iroh, and the guards that where there knew the real story of what had happend to Toph.

Next was Aang, who's speech was longer than Katara's, and spoke of how they had found Toph. he told them of their adventures, and how Toph helped end the war. How she helped bring peace back to the world. This gained Aang a round of applause as it gave the thousands of attendents complete respect for the recently passed earthbending master.

Then it was Iroh's turn. Sokka felt his stomach flip as he watched the wise old man approach the stand. If any one knew the other side of Toph it was him. The Dragon of the West cleared his throat.

"Im here to talk to you all about the side of Toph Bei Fong no one else knew like me. Every speaker here today was close to Toph, and she considered them all family. But, I was the only person Toph would talk to about her inner feelings. On the outside she was extremely tough and headstrong. However, on the inside, she was a boiling pot of insecurites. Toph always regreted her blindness, although it gave her incredible powers. She wished that she could see like all of us. I sat with her many times and we discussed these feelings. She would always think of herself as an ugly, blind, rude, obnoxious, little girl that no one would ever love." Iroh started to choke up, but willed himself to fight through the pain "I told her everytime that she was dead wrong. Toph, truly, was a beautiful, unique, thoughtful, funny, young women, but she would never listen to me. I told her that anyone would be lucky to be with her." Iroh spared Sokka a glance and returned his gaze to the crowed. "But my words of praise fell upon deaf ears, she would not listen to me, and I regret not being able to help her.

Iroh's head drooped and a single tear fell down his wrinkling face. He walked back to his seat, and wished Sokka luck. Taking this as his cue, the young man stood, and shuffled over to the podium. Sokka was never good at speaking in front of a crowed, but dammit this was for Toph. _Wish me luck Yue._

Sokka turned to face the gathering of people in front of him. They were all staring right at him expectantly, exept for one that he could not pick out in the thousands of morners. He cleared his throat and began.

"Im going give my speach a little differently than the others, I would like to let everyone know what happend on the day that Toph died," he paused letting everyone settle down "because I was there." These words created a massive wave of gasps among the crowd, infact, only two people in the thousands were not suprised. There was Iroh, who Sokka had told, and a mysterious hooded figure, who was standing among the crowd, with their head pointed torwards the ground.

Sokka then told the story of what had happend. Tophs confession, her leaving, him trying to find her, and his chase up the inner wall. When he finally reached the part where he caught up with her on top of the great wall, realization spread among the crowd. They knew how she had died now, but they didnt know why. So Sokka continued with the exact words each of them had used on that terrible day.

Finally he reached the part where she was dangling over the wall, with him holding onto her for dear life. "Her last words where _Its for the best Sokka, goodbye." _Now the warrior was openly weeping for the loss of his best friend.

"How do we know you weren't the one to push her off of the wall. Maybe your just trying to save yourself." yelled someone among the crowed. Sokka looked for the source of the extremely rude comment, but could not find it. So he replied to everyone. "There were guards present, they saw the whole thing." Everyone instantly stopped and looked back at the warrior who was explaining every excuciating detail to them. Sokka could see in their eyes that they felt for the young man, and used them to show him how sorry they were for his loss. Not only that, but the reason that Sokka couldnt find the source of the disruption, was because the hooded figure was literaly beating the shit out of him. No one seemed to mind, like they thought he got what he deserved.

"Toph told me it wasn't my fault, she told me that I needed to move on. Im here today hoping that Toph's spirit is among us right now." He paused and gazed torwards at the rising sun "Toph, if you can hear me, I would like you to know that I can never move on form what you have done. I know that there is no way for this not to be my fault. You thought that when you left this world, you would be forgotten, and that all of your grief would disappear. Instead that grief was passed on to me, and I will never be able to forget you."

The hooded figure stopped their merciless beating of the accuser, and turned to face the water tribe warrior.

"Thank you for all being here to give her your last respects. She deserved it."

The Hooded figure stood, thinking, amongst the crowd of people passing by her as they slowly made their way back home. She was still there when almost everyone was gone.

_My plan had worked perfectly, Toph Bei Fong was dead. So why do I feel like shit?_

The ominous figure made her way torwards the giant figure of the late Toph Bei Fong. It was beautiful, she couldnt believe that Sokka had done this all for the girl that had hurt him so much. "Do you think its to much?" asked Sokka. Startled the women pointed her head to the ground. She was a full head shorter than the young man, and she knew he couldnt see her face under the hood. "No, I think Toph would have loved it." replied the stranger "Thanks, by the way, have we met." "No, I cant say we have." "Oh, you just seemed really familiar. Whats your name." asked Sokka "Lily" "Thats a really nice name. I hope I see you again, but I have a lot of work left to do so ill see you later Lily." The warrior turned to leave "Goodbye, Sokka. Have a great wedding" called Lily, Sokka instantly froze. _Was that? No it couldnt be._ Sokka turned back to where Lily was standing, but she was gone. _Did I just imagine that? _Sokka asked himself as he resumed his walk .

_That was stupid what was I thinking. Sokka could of found out, my whole plan could of been a waste of time. I made this decison, I cant take it back, Toph Bei Fong was dead. Like the sunset and sunrise. Toph had died at sunset, and Lily was born at sunrise._

'Lily' better known as Toph walked amongst the crowd, through the busy streets of the earth kingdom capitol. The reborn lily knew where she was headed, but decided to take her time. _Besides its not like Iroh will make it back to the Jasmine Dragon for a couple hours. I can waste sometime._

-End Part 2

Toph's alive! What does this mean? What is she going to do? What was her plan?

Find out next time.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3 is here. Let me know what you think.

Iroh had finally made it back to the Jasmine Dragon after what felt like hours of talking to some attendants of Toph's funeral. _Ok, time to make some tea._ The old man opened the shop and almost instantly people arrived to try the best tea in the city, and possibly the world. It wasn't a full house, but it was busy and he was constantly moving to and fro taking orders and brewing tea. His only helper Jin was now a fine tea maker, although Iroh loved to make it himself.

A hooded figure entered the Jasmine Dragon and took a seat at one of the empty tables. Jin took notice of this and headed over to take the new arrivals order.

"Hello, my names Jin, what can I get for you on this fine day."

"Id like a cup of ginseng please. Oh and can I talk to the owner of this fine establishment." asked the stranger

"Well of course, he will deliver your tea personally." replied Jin "Thank you."

After a few minutes, she noticed the wise old man walking towards her, and he was carrying a pot of tea. Iroh reached the table and greeted his newest customer.

"Hello, my names Iroh, how can I help you." asked the firebender.

"I would like to talk to you about Toph." replied Lily. Iroh's face morphed from calm, to concerned and surprised at this strangers complete straight forwardness.

"May I ask you your name." started Iroh

"Lily, my name is Lily."

"Well I've never met you, so I'm assuming Toph knew you?" asked the old man.

"You could say that."

"So what is it that you would like to talk about Lily?"

Lily's face didn't leave the table, If Iroh saw her it was over. "I'm here about the funeral. I think that Toph would have loved it, and she would have been really thankful for the speech you gave." Iroh raised an eyebrow

"Well thank you very much Lily."

"Anytime."

"Is that all you would like to tell me then?" questioned the Dragon of the West

"Yeah, I just wanted to let you know how much she would have appreciated it."

"Well thank you very much, but I'm going to have to excuse myself I have a lot of work to do." Iroh turned back towards the kitchen.

"Goodbye uncle." called Lily.

The firebending master stopped dead in his are only two people in the world that called him uncle. One was in the fire nation, and the other had just recently passed. He whipped around to face Lily but she was gone, all that was left was an empty tea cup and the pot that he had left. _Was I just hallucinating, or did I just serve tea to a spirit?_

-Two Days Later: Sokka's Wedding

"You may now kiss the bride." Sokka bent down and planted the first kiss he and his wife had shared while they were married.

Applause broke out and it seemed like the earth was shaking. This was not a small gathering of people; many who had come for Toph's funeral had stayed for the marriage. This included Aang, Katara, Hakoda, and half of Ba Sing Se. Even the earth king was there to wish Sokka, and his newly wed bride luck.

That same hooded figure was in the crowed, and she was clapping and yelling with all her might. **"YAAA. WOOHOO, WAY TO GO SNOOZELES!" **Lily was extremely happy for Sokka, it made her feel good to 'see' the young man so happy. Toph thought that she would be sad when it happened, but then she remembered that she was a different person now.

Sokka walked down the aisle with his wife beside him. They headed outside where the after party was being held. Soon they made their way outside, and everyone in the giant building followed their lead.

Lily had made her way outside as well and was now sitting at a table, alone, next to the food stands.

"You sure like wearing that cloak don't you?" asked the newly wed warrior.

"Yup, it's my favorite."

"I'm happy you came Lily"

"Its no problem Sokka, Toph would be proud of you being able to move on." replied Lily

"But I didn't move on, I just got married. You heard my speech at the funeral; I will never be able to move on." Sokka looked to the ground, reminiscing about his lost friend.

"Sokka that isn't healthy, she told you that it wasn't your fault. Toph wouldn't say something like that unless she meant it."

"Wait a minute" Sokka seemed puzzled "you knew Toph?" Lily paused before continuing.

"Yeah, me and her go way back, before she left Gaoling. I heard about what had happened from her parents."

"That's strange; Toph told us she never had any friends before we came along."

"Well when she left we werent really on speaking terms." mumbled the cloaked girl.

"Oh im sorry to hear that, but im positive Toph would of forgiven you if she knew you where at the funeral."

"Thanks Sokka, now I know why she loved you." (No, this isnt a plot hole. Sokka told everyone the whole story at the funeral.)

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I sure wish she didn't. Then Toph would still be here." an awkward silence ensued, but Sokka broke it." Well I should get back to my wife, im glad you could make it." The warrior turned and went to find his newly wed.

"Im happy for you Snoozles." Again Sokka found himself frozen in place, he snapped around this time, but still, he was to slow, and Lily wasn't there. _How the hell does she keep doing that?_

-Five Years Later

"Hey did you hear that Earth Rumble XIV (14) is being held in Ba Sing Se." asked a man in a green tunic "No way, are you joking." replied his companion. Sokka was walking down the street and couldn't help overhearing the conversation, so he stopped to listen. "Nope this is the real deal bro; all of the greatest earth benders are going to be there, even king Bumi from Omashu."

"No way, he's like 120 years old!"

"This is no joke man; there are even some rumors that the Blind Bandit is entering." This made Sokka gasp from surprise. _Could it be could his waiting finally be close to over?_ Sokka could only hope. With this new information, and an unusual spring in his step, he restarted walking.

Finally he arrived to his destination, on every Friday of the year he would go down to Toph's grave, leave her favorite flower (which happened to be a pansy.) Sokka had no idea why she liked it the most, but he figured it was because she also used it as an insult. He would talk to her about what had happened during the week prior to his visit. This time, however, he actually had interesting news.

"Toph if you're still out there, I'm going to find you." Finally he finished his visit and like always he picked the old flower out of the ground that he had put there last visit, and replaced it with the new one. He looked up at the engraved picture of his past friend. It seemed so long ago that they were messing with someone or pulling a prank, but like everytime he looked up at the beautiful girl on the wall, a single tear would escape his eye. It was like she has just died all over again, but now there was new hope, and maybe he could see the real Toph again.

Lily on the other hand was having the time of her life, she was the raining champion of Earth Rumble for five years running, and now it was about to get even better. _These competitions were getting so boring. Thank god that its moving to Ba Sing Se, there might be actual competition there. Like this King Bumi, he sounds really familiar_

"All Aboard, to Ba Sing Se!" yelled someone in front the railcar. _It's been a year since I've been to the capitol, I wonder what has changed?_

Suspected by Sokka, Lily, aka: Toph, had been frequently visiting Ba Sing Se through out four of the five years she had been gone. She would check up on all of her old friends and family, to see how they were doing and what had changed.

**-**_**The time frame is going to be hard to follow in this chapter, hopefully its not messed up. **__**You'll understand why Sokka thinks Toph is alive in the following flashbacks.**_

-Flashbacks: Between the Five Years Toph Was "Dead"-

Lily was there for Aang and Katara's marriage two years after Sokka's, Toph had even been mentioned by Aang as he gave his speech.

"_Can I have everyone's attention please? Thank you. This is by far the greatest day of my life, and I'm so happy you could all share it with me. I would personally like to give a toast to my dear friend Toph Bei Fong for not being able to attend personally, but I know that her spirit is with us right now._" He was given a round of applause by everyone in the room. Except two people who were within ear shot of the Avatar. Sokka had his head down on the table trying to hide his tears, but this time it wasn't just tears of sorrow. It was a mix of joy for his sister and his friend, and sadness for the constant reminder of his loss. The other person was leaning against the outer wall of the building where everyone was eating. Aang wedding was too small, and Lily couldn't participate without being noticed. So she resorted to just standing outside, listening, and feeling the attendants.

Toph was also crying, not for herself like she used to, but for all the pain that she put her family through. She could not take back what she had done, so she did the best she could to be there for them.

Not only was Lily there for Aang's wedding, but she was in the hospital when Suki gave birth to little Bato, another two years later. She had felt the new life be brought into the world and she had wept at how beautiful it was. She also cried knowing that she would never experience it, and feel the love that she would have had for a child of her own. It had made her so happy for Sokka, and yet it made her feel extremely lonely. _Maybe I shouldn't have stopped myself from dying at the bottom of that wall; maybe I should have hit the ground full force. It would be all over. _Toph's eyes sprung another leak, and she sighed._ No then I would of never have been able to be at their weddings, or here for this. _

Toph looked up at the ceiling and cracked a smile. Sokka was directly above her holding his child. Her sensitive ears could pick up their whole conversation. "I really wish Toph was here to see this, you guys." said the warrior. Next was Aang "Have you already forgotten Sokka, Toph was blind." Everyone shared a laugh, except the new father. "No Aang I didn't forget, I just wish that she was here to share this wonderful moment with us." A hint of anger tinged his voice "I'm sorry Sokka, I was just kidding." replied the Avatar "Well it wasn't funny."

Lily smiled to herself, and thought to herself._ He hasn't forgotten me yet. He really did care._ She waited there until everyone was gone and Sokka and Suki were asleep.

Toph headed to the newborn wing of the hospital, she opened the door and sniffed the odd smell of baby. She made her way over to little Bato and 'gazed' at him with her useless eyes. Lily lightly touched his soft arm to feel if he was healthy, she needed to be sure. His heartbeat was strong and had the same exact rhythm as Sokka's. Toph was essentially Bato's aunt and she loved him like he was her own. "Take care little Bato, if you ever need me ill be there."

"I'm not sure you're supposed to be in here, Lily." It was Sokka; she didn't hear him sneak up on her. "I'm sorry Sokka; I was in the city when I heard you were having a child. I just wanted to see him for myself." Toph nervously replied. "It's alright, but if you wanted to see him, you could have just asked." Lily giggled "Yeah, I guess that would have been smarter."

Sokka was gazing at the hooded figure before him, "You know Lily, you remind me alot of Toph."

"Well we did grow up together." the warrior shook his head "No I mean you **really** remind me of her. I know this is ridiculous, but would you mind taking off your hood." Lily paused for a second "Of course."

She pulled back the hood of the cloak and turned to face the new father. What the warrior saw left him absolutely speechless. He was looking at a woman with long black hair the reached down to the small of her back. She had pale, flawless skin, and was without a doubt, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She seemed to glow, and illuminate the dark room, like a nightlight that would never go out. He could have sworn that if he took her outside on a full moon, she would have easily outshined Yue.

"Are you ok Sokka?" asked Lily finally breaking the silence. "Ummm.. yeah of course why wouldn't I be?" _She sort of resembles Toph, but wow I don't think that she could ever look like that. I'm not saying Toph wasn't beautiful, but this girl unbelievable._

_Thank god he didn't see my eyes; if he did it would be all over._ Lily pulled the hood back over her head, and Sokka was reluctant to let her do so. "Wow now I know why you wear that hood." stated Sokka "What are you talking about?" replied Lily "Well if you didn't, every single boy from here to the South Pole would be all over you. You're the most beautiful girl I have ever seen."

Lily's cheeks burned bright red, from Sokka's unexpected compliment. "You don't have to lie to me Sokka, I'm not that pretty."

"But you really are Lily. Any guy would be lucky to be with you." the blind earth bender was speechless. _He thinks I'm that pretty? The most beautiful he's ever seen? Is this a dream? _Sokka took notice of her sudden silence, and decided to continue. "You even look a little like the Toph I remember. Everytime I saw her, she would only look better. When she left us it was like a part of me was ripped out. Like her friendship made me, um.. me. It sort of reminds me of Yin and Yang. One not being complete without the other."

Lily listened to Sokka's heart wrenching story; he was unintentionally stomping all over her heart. "They said that they couldn't move the body, so they buried her where she had landed." sobbed the warrior "One of the guards found the bracelet I gave her on our travels when we were kids, and gave it back." Sokka pulled up his sleeve and took off the meteor bracelet. Toph's eyes went wide. _He's been wearing the bracelet for all these years! _"It umm.. I'm sorry. AHEM.." Sokka cleared his throat handed it to Lily "It was engraved by her, and says please forgive me on it. Toph must have been planning **it** for awhile, if she learned how to read and write."

Lily felt the bracelet in her hands, it was almost the exact same as she had let it but on the exact opposite side of her writing, there was more. "I took the liberty of engraving my own message on it. Seemed like a good idea at the time and it calms me to see it." Lily could see the message with her Earthbending, it read: _Your Forgiven. _The young earthbender started to cry beneath her hood, and Sokka obviously noticed. "What's wrong Lily?"

"Its just so sad how she left you. I can't believe how stupid she was to do it. Toph had no idea how lucky she was." Sokka lifted his head to the sky, let out a long sigh, and turned back to Lily. "Toph wasn't stupid, I can understand her pain. She was lonely and knew that she could never be with the man she loved. I'm starting to feel the same way that she felt, and let me tell you it's not pleasant."

"You have Suki and a beautiful baby boy, how could you feel like she did?" asked the confused earthbender. "I may not feel the loneliness that she felt, but I'm starting to wonder if I made a mistake. Maybe I did love her, everyday I miss her more and nothing I do helps. Don't get me wrong I love Suki with all my heart, but I loved Toph in a different way. Maybe even a better wa..."

"**Don't you dare say it Sokka**. The more you do that, the more her sacrifice gets to meaning nothing. You never loved Toph, and you never will. You married Suki because you were meant to be, that's all there is to it." Sokka was stricken by Lily's sudden aggressiveness, and all it did was anger him as well. "How the hell would you know any of this? I was with her for three straight years, and I never saw you there. So how do you know the way I or Toph really felt?"

Lily's head turned away from the warrior and back to the sleeping boy next to her "Shh.. your gonna wake the baby. Here is your bracelet back. I'm sorry if I offended you. I just don't want her to have died for nothing, that's all. I should get going anyway; ill see you and little Bato later."

Just like that Lily walked out of the room and down the hall, disappearing into the darkness. Sokka watched her go before returning to Bato's side. He looked at his son, sleeping peacefully, knowing that Toph would be his guardian angel. Knowing that she would be there for him if he needs her.

It wasn't until the next day that Sokka noticed that the writing on the bracelet had changed, now instead of_ 'Please Forgive Me', _it read: _Thank You._

Right then and there Sokka decided to bring up the possibility of Toph still being alive to his friends and family. Iroh, being the only person to actually see this 'Lily' person, agreed with what Sokka had said. Everyone else was unconvinced.

"You saw her fall yourself Sokka, she couldn't have survived." argued Katara "I think I know of a way we can prove if she is still alive. Aang you said you met a guru who told you that everything was connected, and In that swamp were you had the vision of Toph. You used some kind of magical power thingy to locate Appa right?"

"Well yeah I guess, but it wasn't magi..."

"Great" Sokka yelled cutting off Aang's unneeded explanation "then you can use your Avatar magic and try to locate Toph's spiritual energy. If you can't find her then me and Iroh are just going crazy."

"Speak for yourself Sokka." replied the tea master.

"Fine ill try, but you have to promise to give this up if I can't locate her."

"I promise Aang. I just need to know."

Aang began to meditate; he had no idea how long it would take, or if he would even find anything. After about ten minutes he began to feel something. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was familiar, and yet different at the same time. "TOPH'S ALIVE!" he couldn't contain his enthusiasm "Oh thank Agni, where is she Aang?" replied Sokka "I can't pinpoint her location for some reason, maybe because she doesn't want to be found. After all she did fake her own death."

"Great, I can't believe this, how are we supposed to find her?" The group exchanged a glace before turning back to Sokka. "She obviously doesn't want to be found Sokka. If she ever wants to comeback then it's her choice." reasoned Katara. "You don't understand, Toph thinks that we hate her for leaving us. After all we went through for her; she thinks we could never forgive her." Aang's head drooped "I'm sorry Sokka, but if you're going to look for her, it's going to have to be on your own."

The warrior glared at his family, he couldn't believe that they wouldn't want to see Toph. "Fine, ill do it by myself, I don't need any of your help." the next person who spoke chilled Sokka's heart "What about your son, what about me? Are you just going to leave us like she did all those years ago?" Sokka closed his eyes; he couldn't imagine leaving his wife and child. "I'm sorry Suki, your right. If Toph wants to be found, she'll come to us." Sokka turned away from the gaang and walked out of the avatar's home, into the streets of Ba Sing Se. He didn't want them to see him cry.

-End Flashbacks-

-Back to Present: Day of Earth Rumble XIV

Sokka had made his way to the newly built stadium in the middle ring of the city, and it was huge. The only bigger building in the earth kingdom had to be the earth kings palace. _Great, how am I supposed to find Toph after her fights are finished? There are just way to many people here. I bet all of Ba Sing Se could fit in there. _Sokka shrugged and made his way to the gigantic structure to find his seat.

Just like in Goaling the first rows of seats were completely void of spectators. In fact people actually chose to stand in the back instead of put themselves in the danger zone. Sokka on the other hand had other ideas. _First off it's the best view, and secondly I can get a little reaction training by avoiding the flying rocks._

The announcer appeared out of the ground using some rudimentary Earthbending and began speaking to the crowd. "Welcome to Earth Rumble XIV, are you ready for an amazing show?" the crowed cheered and clapped for the man center stage "Good because not only are some of the best earthbenders in the world here, but the undefeated Blind Bandit is here to add another belt to the six she already has." this time the crowed didn't just cheer, instead they were on their feet screaming "Bandit, bandit, bandit." and Sokka couldn't help but join in. "Well I guess that means you want this show on the road. In the left corner we have the boulder basher," a super buff guy exploded from the floor into the ring. "And in the right corner we have the challenger, the one the only King Bumi." unlike his counterpart, Bumi simply walked up the steps into the ring. Boulder basher almost died laughing "Oh my god, I can't believe this. I'm fighting an ancient relic." the spectators must have also taken notice of Bumi's extreme age, because the only person wildly cheering the king on was Sokka. "Yeah Bumi, mop the floor with this loser."

The king of Omashu turned to look at his lone fan, and smiled when he realized it was an old friend of his. "Hey old man, are we gonna fight, or do you just want to trip and break your own hip?" asked the basher. This got him a round of laughter from the crowed. "No, think that beating you will be fun enough for me." snorted the king. Boulder basher scowled at Bumi "Well let's get this over with."

"Fine by me." replied the crazy old man.

In one move, it was all over. As soon as the basher had picked up is right leg Bumi created a piston made of earth that slammed against the bashers left leg and sent him flying out of the ring. Everyone in the stands was speachless, besides the hollering water tribe warrior, who had expected it would be over in a few moves. Finally the spectators realized what had happened and appluded for the King of Omashu and his amazing abilites.

Most of the fights ended the same way as the first; the crowed was even starting to resent Bumi's ability to end the fights as soon as they started. They paid to see real fights, not a flick of the wrist and that be the whole fight. When Bumi finally got through fighting his way to the championship match, his demeanor changed. The king was no longer laughing and cracking jokes. Instead he just stood there and waited for his final challenger. Sokka took notice of his seriousness and knew why Bumi no longer was kidding around. He knew how good the Blind Bandit was, just like Sokka did.

The room darkened and left only one spotlight on the host of the show. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the self proclaimed greatest earthbender in the world. The amazing, the spectacular, the Blind Bandit!" the whole building seemed to explode with cheering. This is what they had come to see. They had come to see the two best in the world duke it out for the title 'Greatest'.

Two more spotlights snapped on, one on Bumi, the other on a petite, dark haired, amazingly good looking girl. Sokka couldn't pick out the fine details of her, but as soon as he saw her, he knew it was the real Blind Bandit. Sokka knew it was the same Toph that had supposedly died five years ago. The warrior broke down, no longer crying for his gone friend, but the amazing feeling of seeing her again.

"Well, well if it isn't the great king of Omashu. I thought I recognized your name." called the Bandit. "Do I know you?" asked Bumi. "You most likely can't remember me; we met about eight years ago during the war. I always wanted to test my abilites against you, now I get the chance." Bumi looked like he was trying to remember her. "Oh I remember, I told you how I freed my city when you were in Ba Sing Se right?"

"Yup that's it."

"Well I'm glad to see you again, but be warned just because your a beautiful young lady, doesn't mean ill hold back on you."

The room went silent for a moment that is until Sokka burst out laughing "Oh Spirits that was a good one Bumi!"

_Shit, Id know that laugh anywhere. Sokka's here, I knew that there would be a risk, I should have never come. I was just to excited to fight in Ba Sing Se, I ignored the obvious dangers. Well I guess it's too late to take it back, it's not like he didn't know I was alive anyway. I had left him way to many clues. So I guess ill beat Bumi then hightail it out of here._

"Are you ready to do this Bumi?" called the Bandit. "I'm always ready." snorted the king. The two took their fighting stances. Toph's style was more fluid which meant that hers was less aggressive and used more precise attacks than powerful ones. Bumi's on the other hand was pure power; if one of his attacks connected it would be all over. This left Bumi with a weak defense, just one opening is all that Toph would need.

"Fight!" called the announcer.

Bumi took the offensive which is what Toph had expected. The king lifted a boulder the size of a house and punched it with all his might at the Blind Bandit. Sokka watched in horror as his friend stood there, not even attempting to avoid the huge rock coming straight for her. Bumi's attack connected with its target, but as soon as it collided with Toph she seemed to melt into the rock. She had passed right through the huge boulder, and when the rock slammed into the far wall you could distinctly tell the outline of a small figure in a fighting stance. She hadn't even moved an inch; it was an exact copy of the stance she was in now.

Bumi snorted "Well, well I knew you were tough, but I didn't even think you could do that." Toph smiled "Sounds like your done underestimating me."

This time she took the lead, picking up hundreds of tiles from the stadium and sending them all flying towards Bumi at amazing speed. The crazy king just barely had time to pull up a dome shield before the tiles met their mark. Toph again had anticipated it, so she crushed the dome Bumi had made and trapped him with only his head poking out. "Ha, is that all you got." She tried to raise her hand and point mockingly at Bumi, but met resistance. "Maybe you should look down." called the old man. Toph did and what she saw amazed her. _How did he do it? How had he trapped me when he couldn't move his arms? _Bumi took notice of her confusion and answered the unasked question. "You're not the only one who has a few tricks up their sleeve. I can bend any earth I can see with my eyes." Toph's gasped _How arrogant can I be. I'm the one that had underestimated him. If I'm going to do this I have to expect anything. _

Both benders broke the rock cocoons like someone ripping paper, and returned to their previous stances. Neither spoke a word, they knew this was the biggest challenge they would ever face from another earthbender, and both were equally excited. _Maybe I should scare him, it might be fun?_

The blind bandit entered her horse stance, stuck both of her arms straight out, and slowly lifted them. The whole stadium started to shaking, and the ring slowly started to levitate. The audience watched in amazement as the small women lifted up thousands upon thousands pounds of rock by simply raising her hands. Bumi wasn't surprised by this display of power and ability, so he simply stood there with a bored look on his face. Toph took noticed and smiled to herself _He let his guard down. Time for the surprise. _Toph pointed one of her fingers down toward the earth, which caused the tile Bumi was standing on, to sink through the floor of the ring. The king gasped as the he fell though. If he didn't stop himself he would technically be outside of the ring, and lose the match. The king flung his arms out on either side and tried to wedge himself in the hole. He found purchase and halted only inches above the floor below the ring. Bumi flung himself back to the top of the ring to find a chuckling bandit sprawled on the ground. "Wow, I can't believe I almost got you with that one." The old man didn't reply. Instead he raised a pillar meant to send her flying into the stands where the crowd was watching.

Toph easily rolled to avoid it, still laughing. Bumi was starting to get frustrated, this small women was making fun of him. He sent rock after rock flying toward her but none hit, she simply side stepped them all. _Ok so if I cant hit her when she's on the defensive, maybe I can when she goes to attack. Got to love neutral jing._ For a minute neither moved obviously they were both trying the neutral jing stratagy. Both stood there in silent contest as the crowd watched. In the end Toph lost, letting her anticipation get the best of her.

She slid her right leg along the ground towards Bumi, sending a wave of earth his way. Instead of trying to avoid the avalanche of rock, he ran straight for it. Letting the landslide envelope his body. The crowd gasped in surprise. Toph's senses were slightly weakened with all of the vibrating her attack had made and didn't notice Bumi tunnel underneath her. When he erupted from the ring only a step away from the bandit, she let out an inaudible "Uh oh". The crazy king grabbed the light girl by her waist and lifted her off of the ground like she wieghed nothing. The king started laughing and snorting "Its all over, you can't win now." Slowly Bumi made his way to the edge of the ring, and about ten feet away he lifted Toph over his head and threw her toward the ground outside of the ring. The blind bandit let a faint smile cross her face while she was hurled toward her first loss. She had almost left the ring, but at the last second a rock wall lifted out of nowhere and caught her. She landed a foot away from the edge and stood to face the king.

Bumi instantly stopped his deranged laughter, baffled and confused. "How did you do that? You couldnt feel the earth."

Toph's smile spread wide across her face.

"I have to tell you something Bumi."

"What would that be?" replied the king

"I know you're aware of how I see with my feet. Well I have learned to sense anything made of earth or metal no matter where it is. If something is hanging in the air, let's say a boomerang. I can now feel the slight vibrations in the air and when it connects with metal or rock I can feel exactly where it is. That means I can see every rock and piece of metal in this stadium."

Bumi's mouth dropped "So you can use anything in here against me?"

Toph's already wide smile grew even more. "Yup."

The blind bandit raised her hands into the air, and pieces of metal started attaching themselves to her. She was taking the armor of the soldiers in the stadium and combining them to make a steal shell that contained the champion inside. Then a very familiar black sword flew towards her and connected itself to her right arm. _When did he find this? I never thought he went back to go get it._

"Hey bandit not cool!" yelled Sokka from the stands.

Toph stood there in her shiny shell of thick armor that had no joints or any dents on its surface other than where her mouth would be, allowing her to breath.

"I suggest you surrender Bumi." The king still hadnt recovered from his shock. Finally he snapped out of it and smirked "Sorry, but if I'm not the type to give up."

Then the king raised his hands and did exactly as Toph had done except his suit was made of rock.

He charged at her ignoring the fact that Toph's suit was far superior in strength and mobility.

The blind bandit smiled behind her mask of metal. _Bumi knows he can't win but he's trying anyway. If anything he's gained my respect._

Toph lifted the space sword and sliced every which way with remarkable speed and accuracy. When Omashu's king finally halted his attack, he backed away, and his armor fell apart, leaving the old man standing on a pile of rubble. Toph had used her 'vision' to see where the suit had ended and Bumi began. She had sliced the suit apart without leaving a scratch on him.

Toph extracted herself from the metal contraption she had created. She stood next to the empty shell of armor and pulled the sword from the suit. Toph inspected the blade; it was just as sharp as the day Sokka had made it. The bandit smiled and turned to the old man who was watching her inspect the black sword.

"It's over Bumi. You can give up or I can force you out of the ring."

The crazy king snorted "Well you're just going to have to do it then."

Toph knew he would say that and already had prepared for it. With a flick of her wrist the empty shell of armor flung towards Bumi, wrapping him in a casing of metal. Slowly the bandit lifted it into the air and sent it flying out of the ring.

"The blind bandit wins!" yelled the announcer.

The crowd practically exploded with clapping and cheering. Toph turned back to the still trapped king and released him. As she did the metal she had took reformed to its original state and was sent back to their owners. She 'looked' one last time at the greatest sword in the world before throwing it back towards Sokka. He caught it with practiced ease.

The announcer made his way to the champion, gave her a magnificent looking belt, and dismissed the crowd.

Sokka was already making his was towards Toph, but she started for an exit below the ring. Sokka started running. _I can't lose her; I might not get another chance. _Toph had noticed Sokka trying to catch up with her so she began to run as well. Sokka had longer legs and was gaining fast.

"Bandit please stop, I need to talk to you."

Finally she was with in arms distance, he reached out but his hand didn't connect. Toph had sunk through the floor. _She really doesn't want to be found. _Sokka let out a long sigh. He wasn't going back home yet. First he had to get a couple drinks in him.

-End Part 3

Will Sokka ever be able to talk with Toph? Find out next time. Remember to review!


	4. Chapter 4

The warrior finally found the type of bar he was looking for. It was a rundown, junky, dirty bar, where anyone could get completely wasted for ten copper pieces. "_Hope's End. Wow it really looks like this bar was made for me." _Sokka slammed the door open, almost no one paid attention to him, or even looked in his direction. He walked over to the bar, where an elderly looking bartender was wiping a glass clean.

"What can I get for you son?" asked the barkeep.

"I'll take the strongest stuff you've got." replied the warrior.

The old man turned and pulled a golden glass bottle from the top shelf.

"I'm gonna warn you right now, you can only have one glass of this stuff. Anymore and you could end up killing yourself."

Sokka chuckled "Why, what's in it that's so strong."

"Well its sake with the perfect amount of cactus extract in it. With one glass you get wrecked, but anymore and you'd start to hallucinate."

The warrior let a small smile cross his lips "Yeah that stuff can really mess with your head. I had a run in with the cactus years back, but I got a straight shot of the pure stuff."

The barkeeps mouth almost hit the floor "Wait you drank pure cactus juice?"

"Yup, it was a very… interesting experience." answered the warrior.

"I can only imagine. Here you go. That will be five coppers please."

Sokka handed the old man a silver piece "Keep the change."

He took the strange concoction in one gulp, let out a relived sigh and waited for it to take effect. All Sokka could do was think about Toph, and how amazing she was. She had become so powerful that he began to wonder if she could beat Aang now. At least while he was in his normal state, Sokka doubted that anyone could stand a chance against Aang in the Avatar State.

Finally the drink started to take effect and all his problems started to melt away. That is until a very familiar cloaked figure sat at the stool next to him. Sokka was too wasted and didn't seem to notice at first, but soon he realized that the same girl he had been looking for and hour before had come to him.

"Toph is that you?" slurred Sokka

"Who's there, how do you know who I am?" asked the startled earthbender.

Sokka wondered why she hadn't noticed him before. He looked at the floor and noticed it was made of wood, she couldn't see him.

"It's me Sokka. I know it's you Toph, or should I call you Lily?

Toph pulled the hood of the clock down; there was no point for it now. "Sokka I'm sorry but it was the only way."

"Only way for what Toph? The only way to completely break my heart? The only way to get back at me for what I did?" asked the warrior.

"No Sokka this was never about you! Not everything has to be about you! This was about me and what I needed." spat Toph.

"What did you need Toph?"

"I needed to get away from you. I needed to move on. I needed someone to love me." whispered the metalbender.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

Toph's eyes turn red; she obviously was trying her best to hold back the tears "No Sokka, I didn't. Sometimes I wonder why I even saved myself before I hit the ground the day I left. I guess I just let hope cloud my judgment."

"Toph you don't know how incredibly horrible these past years were with me thinking you were dead. Every night I would have the same nightmare. Me holding on to you, then watching you slip from my grasp only to see you fall and die because I was too weak. I thought I was the reason you had done it, and I paid the price every night."

Toph could not hold back the tears from falling any longer. "I'm so sorry Sokka; I never meant to hurt you. I thought it was all I could do to get away from you, to finally be able to forget you. I was wrong, after your wedding I left the city for awhile. I thought I would never return to Ba Sing Se, that is, until I heard of Aang's wedding. I couldn't miss that, after all we are family. When I returned to Gaoling I stayed for awhile, I tried dating, but unfortunately they never were able to match you. Then I heard that Suki was pregnant, I was so excited that I took the first airship back. If I hadnt I might of missed it. Anyways since the night you saw me at the hospital, I hadnt returned until Earth Rumble moved here. I knew that the chances were high that you would be there, but I couldn't just turn my back on the one thing I had left. So I went for it."

The bar fell silent, neither of the two seemed to want to continue, but Sokka needed answers.

"How did you do it? How did you fake your own death? The guard I talked to said he couldn't move the body."

The earthbending prodigy smirked "Well it wasn't that hard, I couldn't believe you fell for it oh so smart plan guy."

Sokka smiled, that was the Toph he remembered. Sarcasm, jokes, tough as nails, and beautiful, what more could a guy ask for?

"Well before I hit the ground I cushioned the blow with my earthbending by absorbing the fall like a big spring. When the guard came around I bribed him to tell you that I was too messed up to move and I had him make a fake grave. Before I left I gave him the space bracelet so you could see my message."

Sokka almost fell out of his seat. "It was that simple. How could I not have seen that?"

"You were probably to depressed thinking that I was dead and all." Toph replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"That's not funny Toph, I can't just forget all of the pain that you put me through. I can't just laugh it off."

Toph started to chuckle which slowly progressed to laughter. Sokka thought she had lost it. How could she be laughing at his pain?

"Excuse me Toph, but what is so funny?" anger clinging to his words

When the metalbender could start breathing again she answered "Im sorry, it's just that this is almost the exact opposite of how it was all those years ago when you were the cause of my pain. Now you know what I felt like."

Sokka realized the irony and laughed along with his companion. After all of these years, through all of the pain that they caused each other, they were still best friends. Maybe they would be even more.

Sokka didn't return home the next night. He was far too busy catching up with Toph. They talked all through the night, even after the bar had closed. They just walked around the city chatting about anything. Now it was starting to become light out, and Sokka knew he had to get back home.

"Toph I want you to come back home with me. I know that you don't like Suki but everyone misses you."

"I don't know Sokka. After all that's happened why would they even care about me anymore?"

"Trust me they forgive you. Do it for Bato, after all you haven't seen him in a year."

Toph smirked "I did miss that little guy. Fine I'll do it, but you have to promise that you're going to hangout with me more. There really wouldn't be a point returning if all you did was smooch with Suki."

Sokka released a relieved sigh "Deal, I would love to hangout with you more."

They started towards Sokka's home in the upper ring. When they arrived Suki was waiting for him.

"Oh thank the spirits your ok, where were you all night?" cried Sokka's wife

"I was at a bar, and you'll never guess who I found." replied the warrior.

Just then Toph walked in the room to join them. She no longer wore her cloak. Instead she changed into a green and yellow kimono dress, which was a tight fit, almost to tight a fit for her perfectly curved frame. Needless to say Suki was speechless.

Her face became a vivid red "You said you were going to find Toph not some hot new girlfriend!"

For a moment Sokka didn't know what she was talking about. Eventually he noticed Toph standing in the doorway with that amazing dress he picked out for her on the way home. He just couldn't resist getting it a size or two smaller than normal. "Oh Suki that isnt my new girlfriend, that's Toph."

Suki gasped, she walked over to the beautiful girl. "Toph that's you? I can't believe how pretty you've gotten."

"Hot you mean. You can't believe how hot I've gotten." corrected Toph.

Sokka's wife blushed furiously. "Where have you been Toph? I can't believe he found you."

"I've been around. How have you been Suki?" asked the blind women.

The older woman was just about to answer, but Bato began to cry. "Uh oh, I'll be right back."

A minute later she walked out with little Bato in her arms. He was still crying.

"Hey Suki can I speak with you privately for a moment?" asked her husband.

"Sure, here Toph would you hold this little guy for me." The Kyoshi warrior handed Bato to the blind girl.

Toph held the crying baby in her arms, and 'watched' his parents walk out of the room.

The greatest earthbender in the world didn't know what to do to stop his crying. So she began to sing a lullaby that one of her nanny's would sing to her every night when she was a child.

After ten seconds of Toph's smooth lullaby Bato stopped crying. A minute later he was sleeping again. The metalbender smiled when she felt him drift off. She never remembered using the word 'cute', but right now that was the only word she could think of to describe the sleeping child in her arms.

Sokka and Suki watched from the kitchen. Toph could not 'see' them because it was the only room in the house made with a wooden floor.

Suki smiled "Wow it seems like Bato really likes her."

"Yeah it does, but I need to ask you something. Do you think it would be alright if she stayed with us for a little while? She has no where else to go." asked the warrior.

"Of course Toph can stay with us until she finds her own place." replied Suki.

Sokka chuckled "You have got to be the best wife ever."

"And don't you ever forget it."

After they delivered the news to Toph she went to see Iroh at the Jasmine Dragon. He was overjoyed to say the least. She spent a long with him, retelling the stories and adventure's she'd collected over the years she was 'dead'.

Toph was truly happy for the first time in years. Maybe it was even the first time in her life. She could never remember feeling so good. Even the day they defeated Ozai didn't compare.

-One Week Later

The following week was the best week of Sokka's life. He had a beautiful wife, an amazing baby boy, and his best friend back. There was only one problem he hadnt mentioned to Toph. Sokka still didn't feel complete. Ever since that encounter with 'Lily' at the hospital he couldn't stop thinking about Toph as more than a friend. He knew it was wrong, but what if he had chosen the wrong women. What if him and Toph were meant to be? The more time they spent together the more the feelings grew. Finally he decided to talk with Iroh.

"I'm not sure what to do. I love Suki, but I keep having these feelings, even some regrets about Toph. What if I was wrong Iroh? What if I really do love her?"

The old man stroked his grey beard. "Well I cannot tell you who you love Sokka. I can only give you advice on how to figure out who you love."

"You can? That's perfect! How do I figure this out?" asked the eager water tribe warrior.

"Hmm, well first off who are you most comfortable around?"

"Well, with Suki I try to act like the man she wants, but with Toph I can be myself. So I guess it would be Toph."

"Ok. Who would you prefer to spend the day with?"

"Umm.. Suki always has stuff to do so we don't have much time to ourselves, but I guess the things she likes are kind of boring. I like hanging out with Toph because she likes all the things I like."

"Last question, are you so stupid that you can't tell who you really love by now?"

"I'm not sure I follow you there Iroh."

The wise man let you a long sigh. "Think about it Sokka. You obviously like being with Toph more than Suki. The only question you have to ask yourself now is, why do you like being with her more."

Sokka sat at that table for over an hour. Iroh was long gone, and finally he came to the only conclusion.

"I love Toph."

Sokka had to talk to Suki. He would take her out to dinner that night and discuss these new feelings with her. Sokka didn't want to hurt Suki, but he needed to do it.

-Later that night

"Ok Toph, we'll be back in two hours. Make sure that you take care of Bato."

"Don't worry Suki; I wouldn't let anything happen to my favorite nephew." replied he metalbender.

"Bato make sure your aunt doesn't get into any trouble." Joked Sokka as he kissed his sons forehead.

"Haha that's so funny snoozles. Just go and have fun on your date you crazy kids."

Sokka and Suki left, leaving Bato and Toph all alone.

"Well squirt what do you want to do?"

"Mmm…aa.. ma..ma. mama." stuttered Bato.

Toph's mouth fell open. _Oh spirits please don't tell me those where his first words. If Suki found out that he called me mama before her what would she say?_

"Um sorry Bato but im not your mama, Im your aunt."

"Mama." replied Sokka's son.

_Great now he's going to keep calling me mama. I have to tell Suki or else she'll freak out._

"Fine you can call me mama, but only for tonight." countered Toph.

Bato started to clap and laugh, obviously happy with their compromise.

Toph felt strange vibrations emanate from Bato as he bounced up and down.

_Hmm I wonder if he's a bender. I guess there's only one way to find out._

Toph stood up and a small rock from outside. She placed it in front of the baby and 'watched' to see what he would do. Bato just looked at the pebble for a minute. Then he grabbed the rock and played with it.

_Well he likes rock's maybe he is an earthbender. _Toph bended the rock out of Bato's grasp and levitated it in front of him. She shaped it into many different things before placing it back on the floor and pushed it back towards Bato with an over exaggerated hand motion so Bato could copy her. The rock was tiny and Toph knew even a child earthbender could move it. She waited to see what he would do. Finally Bato made a pushing motion towards Toph, mimicking her movements. The small pebble slightly shifted and Toph felt it. _Oh thank the spirits he's an earthbender. I can teach him when he gets older._

"Suki we need to talk."

"Oh, and here I thought you were just taking me out on a romantic dinner."

"It's about Toph."

"I see." replied the Kyoshi warrior.

"Listen I love you so much, and I love Bato with all my heart. This past week has been the best days of my life. Don't get mad because it might be nothing, but for some reason I cant get my brain to stop thinking about Toph."

Suki raised an eyebrow "Well you thought she was dead for five years. Its understandable your thinking about her."

"I don't mean it like that. I mean I can't stop thinking about when Toph told me she loved me. Now I'm wondering if I might have the same feelings for her."

The Kyoshi warrior dropped her chop sticks in shock "What are you talking about Sokka?"

"I'm saying that I might have made a mistake. I'm wondering if I would have been happier with Toph."

Suki was speachless, and her mouth was suddenly dry.

Sokka continued "I'm not saying I don't love you, or that I'm leaving. I'm just confused and I don't know what to do. Everytime I see her my heart skips a beat, everytime I hear her laugh I have trouble breathing. I even dream about her Suki. I need your help; please I don't want to leave you. I love you."

Suki looked down at her food; she was no longer hungry. "Sokka only you can know who you truly love. Don't lie to yourself like you did all those years ago. Either you love me or you love her, and by the sounds of it, you love Toph far more than me."

Sokka felt the tears flowing down his cheeks. He knew the answer to his own question, but Sokka didn't want to admit it."

"I'm not leaving you and Bato. Me and Toph will be there for you, I promise."

Suki let a faint smile cross her lips. "Thank you Sokka. Now go find Toph, she's been waiting for you a very long time."

Sokka stood and left the table, determined to make things right.

Toph was playing in the sand with Bato behind Sokka's house. Toph had made the sandbox for him two days ago and he loved it. She knew it was getting dark out but didn't matter to her. Toph could tell if someone was coming from half a mile away.

_I wonder how Sokka's date is going? He's been acting kind of weird all week, and when the hell am I going to get to 'see' Aang and Katara. _

Toph was ripped away from her thoughts when she felt small vibrations in the earth. Then it slowly grew until it felt like fifty people were heading towards them in all directions. They were being surrounded.

-End Part 4


	5. Chapter 5

"Well. Well. Well. Who do we have here? Is this the one and only Toph Bei Fong? I could have sworn she was dead. Oh well it doesn't make much difference really. There are fifty of us and only one of you."

Toph never forgot a voice. This was none other than the former fire princess Azula.

"When did they let you out of the loony bin princess?" asked Toph in a mocking tone.

Azula temporarily lost her temper. "How dare you say that peasant. I broke out a year ago. The fire lord didn't even send men to find me, which is going to be his biggest mistake ever."

"Why are you here Azula? What could you possibly gain by doing this?"

"Im here for the child." answered the former princess "He's going to be a very good bartering chip."

"You will not take him. I. WONT. LET. YOU." yelled the greatest earthbender on the planet.

Azula snickered "Do you really think you stand a chance? I could take you myself if I wanted to."

Toph smirked to herself. They didn't know how powerful she had become. Their own confidence is going to be their demise.

Toph felt the fifty warriors surrounding her. She could tell by their stances that thirty-nine of them were not firebenders, and eleven were, counting Azula. She had to be careful and make sure Bato didn't get hurt. That was all that mattered to her; if anything happened to her nephew she couldn't live with herself. He was like her very own son now; she would protect him with her life.

Sokka on the other hand was walking home thinking how he would tell Toph that he really did love her. Would she still love him back after all he put her through? Sokka didn't know the answer, but he wouldn't deny his heart any longer. Either way it was going to end tonight.

He was about half a kilometer from his home when he heard the explosion, a huge cloud of dust and rocks were thrown into the air. Sokka stopped and gazed at it, but only for an instant, because a second later he was sprinting toward the source which could only be Toph.

The initial attack was perfect. She had killed the ten firebenders with spikes of earth while simultaneously raising a huge dust cloud. Azula was the only firebender to dodge it just in time. Many of the warriors were too shocked to do anything and they met a similar demise. Only twenty men were left for her to defeat. They all charged her, but they just ran into a trap. Toph had surrounded herself and Bato with quicksand. All twenty of them sunk into the ground and suffocated. The earthbender re hardened the ground to its normal state. Only Azula was left for Toph to destroy.

She smirked to herself "Looks like you underestimated my power Azula. That was your greatest mistake."

The fire princess sneered "Well if your so powerful you wouldn't mind getting a face full of lightning would you?"

Toph, once again, smiled to herself. "I'll bet you that as soon as that lightning leaves your fingertips you'll already be dead."

"You're on filth."

Azula began to summon the lightning. Its to bad for her that it required all of her concentration, if it hadnt she might have noticed the floating bar of metal in a distinct U shape.

As soon as Azula pointed towards Toph it was there. One of the two prongs touched her fingers. Azula didn't even have time to scream. The lightning funneled through the metal and out the other direction pointing right at her. The electricity had nowhere else to go then back into the person that had created it.

Azula's internal organs fried in an instant. She collapsed to the ground.

Toph felt odd, instead of feeling trumpet, she felt a numbness in her stomach. She reached down to feel her belly, but instead she met a metal object jutting out of her abdomen.

Sokka watched in horror. He was to late. He was to far away to save her in time.

One of the men that she thought was dead had limped over and stabbed her through the back the instant that Azula had accidentally killed herself.

Toph was 'looking' down at the blade that was sticking all the way through her. She couldn't see it, but knew it was there. She slid her fingers along the blade. Toph hadnt felt it coming; she had been too preoccupied with Azula.

The man that had done it was kneeling behind her. He obviously was a dead man and he knew it. Blood covered his clothing.

Toph grabbed the hilt of the sword sticking into her back and ripped it out in an instant. She didn't even whimper when blood seemed to explode from her midsection. She turned toward her attacker, and 'looked' him dead in the eye. He was shocked to say the least. How could she still be standing? Let alone actually look unaffected by her mortal wound.

She raised the sword and sliced his head off in one skillful movement.

Sokka ran to her, catching her as she fell to the ground. He laid her down carefully so he didn't cause any unnecessary pain. He felt numb all over; he could feel the life seep out of his loved one as it spilled onto the earth like a living waterfall. He actually could see her getting paler with every passing second.

"Sokka is that you?" asked the dying beauty.

Sokka choked up, his crying was preventing his answers. "Yeah Toph I'm here."

"Bato is right over there." She blankly pointed to a small earth dome.

It collapsed and Bato was sleeping inside it. Sokka ran over and grabbed his small child, then returned to Toph with his son in his arms.

"Is he alright Sokka?" she sounded frightened.

"Yeah Toph" Sokka released a small chuckle "he's actually asleep right now."

She smiled "Sokka this past week was the best in my entire life, I'm so happy that I got to spend it with you. Be sure to make Bato practice earthbending everyday."

"Wait he's an earthbender."

"Yup he moved a pebble all by himself. I was so proud, I was really looking forward to teaching him." replied the metalbender.

"Toph please don't say that. You cant leave me again, not after I just got you back." cried Sokka.

"Sokka you're the master swordsman, you saw what happened. What are the chances I'll survive that?" It was a rhetorical questioned

He didn't reply.

"That's what I thought."

After another pause Toph started weakly chuckling to herself. "Sokka I guess I actually get to use that grave after all."

This only made him feel worse.

"Please promise me that this time you'll move on. You need to forget about me Sokka."

Sokka looked into her beautiful pale green eyes. "How could I forget about the girl that I love?"

Her eyes flew open. "What did you just say?"

"I said that I love you Toph." The warrior bent down and placed his lips to hers. When they touched it sent an electric shock through his spine. Her lips were soft and gentle.

When they broke apart she smiled at him. "I love you to Sokka"

"I'm sorry if it's a little late." Spoke the warrior as he smiled back.

"Better late then never snoozles." replied the dying women "I just want you to know that I'll be waiting for you on the other side and I'll be watching over you and Bato until its your turn to join me."

Sokka let another faint smile cross his lips "I never thought in all of my life that I would be looking forward to dying."

Toph let out a small chuckle but it turned into coughing. When her coughing fit ended, her breathing became ragged and short. Sokka could tell that her time was about up.

"This will have to last until the day we see each other again."

He leaned over again and kissed her with all the passion in his being. He memorized her touch, her smell, and her very image. He could feel the life leaving her, the warmth of her lips faded as the blood spilled all over the ground. It painted the dirt red as her very life force returned to the element that she so masterfully bended.

Finally the last bit of heat in her body was expelled to the earth, her head became limp and Sokka knew she was gone. He looked down at his dead lover and Bato began to cry. Almost as if he shared his fathers pain and sorrow. Sokka began to sing the lullaby that Toph had sung the first time she had held him. His son fell back asleep in his arms; Sokka looked up to the full moon that was now high in the sky, his eyes glistening with tears.

It was shining brilliantly, illuminating Toph with its everlasting glow. Even as she laid there, skin whiter than the Yue herself, and her cloths covered with blood, she was still the most beautiful thing Sokka had seen in his entire life.

He looked back to his sleeping son and whispered to him "We're pretty lucky Bato, now we have two beautiful girls protecting us."

Sokka had always thought that Yue was his guardian spirit, and she was; but now he not only had the moon protecting him and his son. He also had the earth.

-Six years later

"Hey dad can you tell me that story about Toph again?" asked Bato.

Sokka chuckled "Have you completed your earthbending training for the day?

"Yup."

"Ok get into your bed and I'll be there in a minute." replied his father.

He watched his little earthbending prodigy run to the house. Sokka was in his favorite place in the entire world. It was the spot he had shared his first and last kiss with the one he loved so dearly. He could feel her very essence surrounding him; it was like she had never left. Everytime that he was around Bato, especially when he earthbended, her presence grew even stronger. It had been that way since the day she had died, and he knew that Toph was keeping her promise. She would watch over them until they met again in the spirit world.

Tomorrow was Friday and he would make his weekly journey to her grave like he had all of those years ago, but this time he would take his son.

Her grave had been updated; they had re carved the monument so it looked like her more mature figure. They had even re engraved some writing. Now it read:

_"Toph Bei Fong"_

_A War Hero, An Avatar's Teacher_

_The greatest friend __and lover__ anyone could ask for_

_We will never forget __her sacrifice_

Sokka smiled to himself. _Tonight's the night im going to tell him the truth; he's old enough now to know about Toph's role in his life. He was far to young to remember her, but for some reason he loves the stories I tell him about her. Maybe he does remember something; it's just so small that it doesn't affect him. Either way he's going to learn about her sacrifice for him, and her love for both of us._


	6. Epilogue

-Epilogue

Sokka the sword master, the war hero, the genius, lived a very happy and long life with his son and wife. (They had decided it was best for Bato to not split.) He helped put an end to the hundred year war. He worked on the original plans for Republic City. And he was the great grandfather of the new Avatar, Korra. He was funny, sarcastic, witty, and the greatest brother a girl could ever ask for. With his passing he rejoined his long lost love Toph.

Katara pointed to Toph's statue. Next to her stood two more monuments on either side. The one on the left was a wise looking monk, it was Aang, he had passed in his sleep fifteen years ago. Apparently being 165 took its toll on the body.

On Toph's right side stood a tall muscular warrior with a sword. This was Sokka; he had just recently passed on leaving Katara with only Bato and her son Tenzin. He was 83 and had died of an unknown illness. Some say he couldn't wait any longer to be with Toph in the afterlife and Katara started to believe it. There was nothing wrong with Sokka when he had died. She had tried healing him herself.

Katara smiled as she looked at her family on the wall. One day it would be her turn to join them. Even Zuko and Mai would be sculpted onto the wall when their time came. The Gaang would be immortal on the great inner wall of Ba Sing Se.

She turned back to the crowd. "Please do not be sad for Sokka. He would want you to be happy for him, he had been waiting his whole life to be with Toph again, and now he is."

Katara stepped away from the podium and walked back to the seat next to her niece. Korra was 15 years old and already a master waterbender, which Katara had trained. She also knew how to earth and firebend. Katara had told her the story of her great grandfather and Toph. Korra had never known of their secret love.

Bato taught Korra how to earthbend. He used the same technique Toph had used when she was alive. He could even bend metal just like his aunt. Sokka had even given him Toph's meteor bracelet when he had died. He had told him that he could keep it, but before his time came, he had to return it to Toph's statue and bend it back onto Toph's wrist.

Bato had become the strongest earthbender _alive_, but no matter how good he got his father told him Toph was better. The funny thing is Bato didn't doubt Sokka. Especially after the story he had told him of Toph defeating fifty warriors including the greatest firebender ever, while protecting himself.

Truth be told Bato never actually got as good as Toph, but had gotten very close. Sokka told him he was so strong because Toph's spirit gave him his unbelievable power.

When everyone had left Bato walked over to Toph's grave. He pulled the old pansy out of the ground in front of her memorial. It was the one he had left last visit.

Bato replaced it with a new one like he did every week.

Since He was a child his father would bring him here every Friday and leave her the same flower. Apparently it was Toph's favorite.

Bato turned his gaze to Toph's monument, like his father before him; he couldn't wait to see her again.

Years later the inner wall was finally complete. All of the hero's of the hundred year war became immortal.

They would always be together in the afterlife, and eventually they would be joined by their families.

-End

I hope that you liked it. **Please leave comments and reviews.**

Thanks for reading


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